New To This Forum.. Questions

[gc24]

Never seen the Oliver before, familiar with the Casita. How is this one that different from a Casita, what is the price of these, have they been around that long?

[mountainborn]

There are so many similaritys that it is hard to list them all. But the Oliver seems to be a Cousin , on steroids ! Example, you can choose the insulation level that suits you in a Oliver. The last time I heard insulation wasn't a option for Casita. It is that way with nearly all of the Oliver's various systems. They look similar, untill you take a second and closer look. Each of those upgraded systems extends your camping and relaxing experience !

I think that Robert, BUFFALOBOB on these forums,( he will likely be back in the office on Monday ), will have to answer about pricing, it has been awhile since we bought out 2008, and more cool things have been added since then.

I'll bet that someone on here lives close enough to you that you could arrange a tour of a Oliver. What part of the US are you located in ?

[tumbleweed]

Hi gc24! Welcome to the forum.

I've had 2 Casitas and love my Oliver. Mountainborn pretty well hits the nail on the head!

Casita builds a very nice trailer and I got many miles of enjoyment from both; 17' Spirit and Liberty. Was about midway through my list of the modifications I was making to the Liberty when I saw the Oliver, already set up with all the bells and whistles I wanted. It's kinda' like trying to add leather and sunroof to your Chevy n seeing a Cadillac!

If I can answer any Casita/Oliver questions or comparisons for you, don't hesitate to ask.

Chuck

[technomadia]

Here's an interesting question for all the former Casita owners...

 

Is there anything about the Casita that you find you miss, or that you like better than your Oliver? Other than the cheaper price, of course...

 

- Chris // http://www.technomadia.com

[earthdancer]

My boyfriend, Chuck... or Tumbleweed has an Oliver. I have a 2004 Casita Spirit Deluxe. This weekend I am campimg in my Casita until Wed in Dade City, FL and Chuck is camping in his Oliver in California. I have towed both with my Chevy Trailblazer within the last month. The Oliver tows better by far. I don't know the technical reasons why, but the Oliver just follows behind like and obedient puppydog. The Casita bounces and jerks going over bumps etc and constantly reminds me that it's back there, like a bad puppy pulling against it's leash! That's as technical as I get folks! I love the privacy shades in the Oliver, I hate the useless blinds in the Casita. I love the clean white walls with the Oliver! With all my allergies, the last thing I need is a room wrapped in carpet! I love that Oliver takes all the guesswork out of knowing how full the gray tanks and black tanks are, how much battery power you have left etc.! That panel is readily accessible right under the sink to tell you what you need to know. With my Casita, I never know! I can only make educated guesses about when I need to dump, unless I want to spend big bucks to have a similar panel installed!

Ok, I'm an old woman! I love the pushbutton set up of the Oliver. 3 buttons pushed and it's level! I gotta pull out the hand crank, get down on my hands and knees and go around at least once dropping all the stabilizer pads, the back around all of them again to get level. I'm sorry, but that sucks! It gets old real quick! Then when you break camp you gotta do it all over again, in reverse. My knees hate it, my back hates it!

To check the water level in my Casita battery is another battle! I have to fight to hold the battery door open while I struggle to slide out a battery that stubbornly refuses to move unless much force is applied! With Chucks Oliver, the 2 batteries (not 1 as per Casita) slide out in a drawer! You can do it with one finger, no cuss words and no broken nails! Don't even get me started on the wonderful entertainment system Oliver installs. Casita owners entertain themselves at night planning their next "mods"! The surround sound effect is amazing. If there had been an Oliver on the market when I bought my Casita..... well.... I wouldn't be camping in this Casita!

That it from my perspective. Geri

[SeaDawg]

Earthdancer has a close, daily look at both... My observations from looking at Casitas and Oliver,,, (bear in mind, we bought Oliver, not Casita)

1. Carpet and particle board... The Oliver has neither, the Casita has both in abundance. I'm not partial to either. I live in the land of allergens in Florida already and take allergy medicine daily... Carpet is hard to clean, never really dust free. Particle board expands with water, which we have in abundance, even in the Florida air.... I love being able to clean the all fiberglass and gelcoat interior of the oliver in 15-20 minutes with a portable vacuum or a soft 4" paintbrush "broom", a spray bottle of vinegar windex, and a soft cloth. (Ok, the bathroom takes a litttle longer,.. but that takes longer at home too... in the Oliver I just turn on the garden hose and use a little spray and a scrubby when we get home.... ) I admit it. I'm a neat freak. Can't help the way I was raised. I'm just thankful to own a trailer that accomodates my needs and neat freak passion.

2. Storage. .. Casita cupboards are a lot smaller... Oliver cupboards have a lot of depth and height. The "curve" on Casita ceiling is incorporated into Oliver cupboards, and then some. I still have empty overhead cupboards in the Oliver , waiting for the "big trip[". Our Oliver has three great drawers.... my friend's casita has one. Doesn't seem like a big deal, till you start making dinner.... then it is. Speaking of making dinner, no carpet next to the tiny kitchen in either means no odors lingering to remind you of yesterday's dinner..

3,Comfort & ease.... Double hull, and we have thermo pane window option. Toasty and comffy for us, even with the overhead vents open. Lots of tankage... very helpful when boondocking. Setup? 15 minutes, less if we don't want the awning up. Those electric leveling jacks are amazing. Ditto breakdown. Shower/grey water stop valve is in the shower, where it belongs. Tank & power meters are great for us... We spend a lot of time off the grid. I could go on and on with this topic... everything is just too easy... For me, that means I spend more time doing what I like to do, and less what I have to do .... Sherry

[tumbleweed]

Having had both models of Casita, Spirit and Liberty, both deluxes I can NOT think of anything that I miss about the Casita. Plse don't get me wrong..I thoughly enjoyed my Casitas and between the 2 put over 40,000 miles on them.

Chuck

[beeser]

Sorry for getting off topic but what is the function of the shower stop valve? Is this something that all trailers have regardless of where it's located?

[mountainborn]

Hey, beeser ! We use the water stop valve to save water when showering because we mostly boondock. The valve lets you wet down and with one quick click, turn the shower head off without changing the temperature settings. Then after soaping down, one click lets you rinse quickly off with the water still set at the just right temperature.

I'll bet that this clever bunch on these forums have found other uses for the valve though !

[beeser]

Hey, beeser ! We use the water stop valve to save water when showering because we mostly boondock. The valve lets you wet down and with one quick click, turn the shower head off without changing the temperature settings. Then after soaping down, one click lets you rinse quickly off with the water still set at the just right temperature.

I'll bet that this clever bunch on these forums have found other uses for the valve though !

Now you really have me confused. Just to be sure we're talking about the same thing, I was referring to the valve that is controlled by a T-type handle in the bathroom. Does this control fresh water or drain water?

[beeser]

The drain (?) handle that I was referring to is shown in this picture.

http://olivertraveltrailers.com/sany0314

It's just to the left of the toilet.

[technomadia]

As I understand it, that valve seals off the connection between the shower floor drain and the grey water tank. This keeps grey water from sloshing up and out into the floor of the bathroom while underway.

 

It also keeps water from draining from the shower. On the Casita, this is a problem because if you start a shower having forgotten to open the valve (on the outside of the trailer!) - you have to run outside naked and soapy to open it.

 

Hmmm.... That could be fun to watch... *grin*

 

- Chris

[beeser]

That makes sense technomadia. It must be a Casita/Oliver type thing. I looked on my Bigfoot and it doesn't have such a valve. Is this valve necessary on the Casita/Oliver because of the height difference between the tank and lowest drain?

[earthdancer]

My very first shower in my Casita found me ankle deep in water! I bought my trailer used and they didn't tell me about the pull thingee out front UNDER the LP tanks! I had to get online to the folks at Casita Club and beg for help! They were quick and polite (and I was thankful that I wasn't able to hear all the snickers and laughter) and told me exactly where it was. Groan.!! .... my knees didn't want me to have to kneel on the ground to look for the pull, but I finally found it. When I got home, the first thing I did was add an extention to the pull thingee so I wouldn't have to get down on my knees anymore!

 

I love to shower in Chuck's Oliver! Couple of reasons! I love the moulded sink built right in!

The free standing sink in the Casita is something I am always afraid to lean on, afraid I will pull it off the wall. The pull up stick that switches from the sink to the shower in the Casita only works with much exasperation and cussing. No such problem with Ollie!

 

Geri